What is the effect of doubling the current flowing through a metallic wire on: drift speed of free…
What is the effect of doubling the current flowing through a metallic wire on:
(a)[1.0]
drift speed of free electrons?
(b)[1.0]
relaxation time of free electrons?
Answer
Answer (a)
AIWritten by AI - it can contain mistakes.
Drift speed $v_d$ is directly proportional to current ($I = n A e v_d \implies v_d \propto I$). Therefore, doubling the current doubles the drift speed of the free electrons.
Answer (b)
AIWritten by AI - it can contain mistakes.
Relaxation time depends only on the temperature and nature of the material, not on the current. Therefore, doubling the current has no effect on the relaxation time of free electrons (assuming temperature remains constant).
From ISC 2026 Physics Paper 1, question 4(i).